Evolving news on the science, writing and thinking about Near Death Experiences (NDEs)

Get Paid To Study NDEs

Thanks to Samwise for posting this in the comments section of the last post. Again, I felt this was worth creating a seperate post out of since it is news about the AWARE study, and the last post was nearing a hundred comments, so time to move on.

The link below is for a new position as a research data associate at New York University School Of Medicine. The job description is clearly for someone to be working alongside the AWARE II study team as it references Sam Parnia and describes elements of the protocol that we are familiar with.

They are looking for a graduate level employee, and someone who is either studying for a Ph.D. or who has relevant qualifications. When I first looked at it, I thought it was full time, but it would appear to be a bit of a zero hours type position, with variable hours, and on a temp basis. This ties in with a comment that David said, and that they may be looking to recruit a few people, so that they have someone “on call” at all times to attend the crash cart in the event of a CA. There are also a number of other duties which focus on the data processing side of things.

As I mentioned in the comments section, my one big concern about this is the lack of blinding that this position introduces into the study. If the same person who attends the CA, does the interview and processes the data, then this opens up any positive hits to accusations of potential cheating. It is in many ways a small detail as I am sure there will be other ways of verifying the validity of any confirmed OBEs, but my preference would be to remove any possibility of the interviewer knowing what image was projected. It may be that this is indeed the case, but without seeing a copy of the full protocol it is impossible to know for sure.

Anyway, this is all good in every other respect. This study is really ramping up by the looks of things, and is being taken very seriously. Roll on 2020.

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32 thoughts on “Get Paid To Study NDEs”

That’s a ‘fair’ list of responsibilities required. I guess they have to cover every eventuality, though.
With reference to your concerns about the protocols, you could always ask Dr Parnia. I’d be interested to hear what he has to say. I do think you’ll get a reply, you did last time. However, I’d be surprised if he’s going to have the same person elevating the tablet (during the code procedure) and also conducting the interview. I could imagine sceptics clutching at super-psi if this is the case.

Here is a German OBE/NDE. It’s similar to the experience reported by Dr Sam Parnia’s Mr A (case), in that it occurred in the cath lab. The insertion of the wire to insert a stent (I think that’s what the procedure is) seems to occasionally cause the heart to go into ventricular fibrillation.

With this guy it happened twice and from his ‘floating position’ above his body, he observed a nameplate on top of a machine.
If we exchange the nameplate for the tablet and picture, then surely it’s bingo, isn’t it ? I’d like Parnia to have seen this OBE/NDE report, I think it might encourage him. Maybe he’ll read it here, who knows.

The near-death experience did not occur during the bypass operation, though. A few months after the operation, I had to undergo another heart procedure, a cardiac catheterization with balloon dilatation. The procedure was familiar to me and was performed only with local anaesthesia at the site of the insertion of the catheter in the groin. I considered this to be a routine examination and I was not anticipating anything dramatic occurring. I’d made no special arrangements, I drove to hospital on the Monday morning thinking I’d be released after four days at the latest. On Friday, I had an important career project planned. I trusted the doctors and their professionalism.

After preparation, the procedure began routinely in the late afternoon. I was fully conscious, following the events on the TV monitor and exchanging conversation with the medical staff performing the procedure. However, my field of vision was very limited by a green drape that was stretched at the level of my ribcage (blocking my view)

Completely unexpectedly, I felt very heavily tired during the procedure. At first I resisted the urge because I wanted to hear everything they were saying. I initially suspected that the doctors had given me a sleep aid or a light anaesthetic but had not explained that to me. I didn’t feel any pain. Then I began to fear that something had gone wrong during the procedure.

Then I suddenly found myself outside my body. I floated about halfway up in the operating theatre. As in the role of an observer, I could strangely perceive what was happening to my body down there. There was a great deal of confusion in me at first, as I didn’t know what this meant. Then I had a feeling of peace, yes peace and happiness. I felt no need to return to my body. Then… unexpectedly, but with a feeling of a great effort, I again came back to this reality as if nothing had happened. My body and my consciousness were unified again.

A short time later, I felt extremely tired for the second time. Again the thought that something’s gone wrong with the procedure. Much more intense now was that I had an awareness/thoughts of death, thoughts of my family, to whom I had not said goodbye, nor could I say goodbye ! What can I do now ? Then a second out of body experience began and somewhat macabrely, I saw my own funeral. I suddenly floated over my own funeral scene. I’d simply omitted this detail in later reports because it just seemed so incredibly extraordinary to me.

When leaving my body, I felt like I was taking off a coat and laying it down. I will never forget this scene. It’s engraved into my memory. This removal of the “old” earthly body was tremendously liberating. After that, I was not bodiless, it was another body, maybe a spiritual body, but the weight of the earthly physical body, I had left that behind! Then, it was a state of great confusion: The thoughts shot through my “head,” (but not the physical head because that was still on the operating table with my body). “Am I dead…. what kind of condition/existence is this?” “If this state of consciousness disappears, is that death?”

But then that doubt was replaced by the firm conviction that I was “living on,” in whatever form. There were brief moments of feeling that all my problems, questions and conflicts were resolved or dissolved and that I simply understood everything, a kind of “omniscience”. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the why’s and wherefore’s about that. There were some amusing moments too….. suddenly my “hovering” became unstable and I felt there was a danger of falling through the wall. I was curious what else would happen. In this condition, my attention somehow focused on a detail of a medical device, a kind of “nameplate” that caught my attention. Why this was so interesting, I can’t say.

The return to my body this time was associated with an even greater effort than the first. I then perceived how a pressure bandage had been put on my body. Immediately after the procedure was over, I was taken to another room for observation and later to my hospital bedroom. I felt good, had a drink and began to read etc and in between I contemplated this experience, which I could not explain. However, it was tempered by the relief that the procedure had been successful. In the evening, the doctor visited me and confirmed this. He mentioned, however, incidentally, there had been two complications during the procedure, namely two occurrences of ventricular fibrillation (cardiac arrest).

And then I again consciously remembered this experience. I also briefly described it to the doctor, giving him details of the sign on the device that I had seen when I was out of my body. I just wanted a brief explanation, maybe something like: “Yes, we know about this phenomenon, it can be explained by so and so.” But the doctor did not respond. Later, however, he had it confirmed through a sister (nurse) that my observation had been correct. The nurse then once again added that it was impossible for (me) a patient to see this sign. That was it. There was no documentation in the medical records about it.

BTW Ben, if you think there is a copyright issue with this, feel free to delete it.

Ben said > Hi Tim. Great NDE account…I think it would be better though to summarize it and provide a link.

Okay, no worries, Ben. What about if you just leave it up a bit longer (few days) and then delete it. That would give some of the other posters on here the opportunity to see it. Whatever you choose to do is fine by me. I’d prefer not to summarize it if that’s okay.

My issue at first is whether it should be credited and directed to another site. If it’s just some random NDE, without proper citations and accreditations then it is just one of many, many such cases…hence the need for properly, scientifically, validated OBEs.

If you google the name I provided below, you will find quite a lot of information about it, Ben. I don’t know what you mean by a random NDE. Every NDE without medical records is random and of course we have no reason to automatically accept such testimonies. However, even NDE’s with medical records and witness statements still don’t count for much (as regards the sceptics accepting the paranormal implications), do they.

Mr Serwaty’s account I believe is absolutely genuine as he has been repeatedly interviewed by the German press. His background is solid and he also started one of the IANDS branches in Germany. He has no reason whatsoever to invent such a story and bearing in mind that the cardiac catheterization procedure certainly can induce cardiac arrests, it fits together perfectly.

Lastly, I always enquire very carefully into the NDE reports and I never accept anything without scrutinising it. So I’m not likely to start posting dodgy NDE’s anywhere. As I said, before Ben, please feel free to delete it now.

Tim, let me qualify what I said. The first bit was relating to posting it on this site for copyright purposes etc. I prefer links with quotations or summaries as like myself, others work hard to create their own material. When I get the chance, I will look into this one further.

Secondly, I am not for one second saying that I don’t believe this NDE happened, or that it was in any way fabricated. I am a believer! 100%. My comments need to be taken in the context of the next step forward that needs to be made. There are a lot of people who believe NDEs are real, many more who are curious, but have doubts, and others who don’t believe at all (generally atheists or materialists).

To move the needle we need properly validated OBEs. We have a growing pile of excellent, but subjective, reports of NDEs that have not been successfully validated using a scientific method. While they are amazing to hear, and encouraging in this case to know that he saw things from directly above, new cases like these are one of many that will not impact the current philosphical stalemate. We need data from AWARE II, and it needs to be watertight.

Ben said > “I prefer links with quotations or summaries as like myself, others work hard to create their own material. When I get the chance, I will look into this one further.”

Sure, you said so and I understand that, obviously. That’s why I suggested you delete it in a few days or immediately if you think fit.

Ben said > “Secondly, I am not for one second saying that I don’t believe this NDE happened, or that it was in any way fabricated.”

I guess we have different interpretations of the word ‘random.’

Ben said > “To move the needle we need properly validated OBEs. ”

I already accept that we have a great many of those (properly validated)… but to force a re-write of the science books, we will have to reach the standard of experimentally validated, as in Aware 2, I agree.

I wonder for a long time why this study “Conscious mental activity during a deep hypothermic cardiocirculatory arrest”done by Dr. Beauregard published in 2012 gets so little attention and discussion. Dr Parnia cite this study 2 times in his paper. And the veridicial case in his study is rather strong. It is in operation room, with medical record. There is CA there. The patient’s eyes were taped shut. The report can be verified, and it was published on the peer-reviewed acedmic journal. It is nearly perfect except for the CA cause is kind of “artificial ” and it is hard to confirm if it really happens at he time of CA. But for the time issue, I believe even for AWARE II, it is hard for them to confirm at what time he NDE happens. But other than that, since the patient’s eyes are taped shut, it ruled out the possibility that the patient is conscious and physically see something in this period. In this case, it become a very strong case in the NDE. Therefore I just wonder, why so few propels talks about it? Neither the supporter nor skeptics really seem to care about it. It seems really strange.

I think the result of that study is the kind of result that Dr. Parnia really want to get in AWAREII . It is kind of predecessor of Dr Parnia’s study. The key idea is the same-patient sees something they cannot physically see.That is the goal of AWARE study, isn’t it?
At least for what I have read, it is the most all-around strongest evidence in the NDE study. That’s the reason why I feel very strange that it did not cause lot of attention. Is that because of there are some big flaws on that study? At least for me, I cannot discover any significant flaw in the study, and since Dr. Parnia had cited it in two of his paper, I also don’t think that Dr Parnia considered it inaccurate.

Bill, I agree with Z…controlled test environment, in which this tyoe of event is being specifically measured in a scientific manner is what is needed now. The COOL study was supposed to go down that route, but Beauregard moved to a different university. It had so much potential. Nevermind, AWARE II is as good as it gets.

Yes pity it did. But I do think the above case bill mentioned was to form part of the preliminary part of the cool study. And although not within the strict parameters of such a study it nevertheless a sting case and similar in the pam Reynolds case

Thanks, Ben. It may just be that Parnia has decided to ignore any more questions but who knows. He used to respond to my enquiries but I must have ‘pushed my luck’ too far and he stopped. That’s perfectly okay though.

I found something strange. I think that the AWARE II project got grant from Templeton Foundation and I saw that on the website of that foundation before. But now I just cannot find AWARE study on the database of Templeton Foundation. What happens?

I have sent email to that I think is his work email on Stony Brook. But since he has moved to NYU, I do not know whether he had got new email on NYU and did not use that email address in Stony Brook any more, or it is that he just choosed to ignore it like some of your cases. Did he ask you to keep his email address as a secret? I really want to try asking Dr. Parnia few questions even though there may not be a response.

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